MAYOR BLOOMBERG DISCUSSES THE CITY'S PREPAREDNESS FOR CONTINUED FINANCIAL CHALLENGES IN WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS

The following is the text of Mayor Bloomberg's weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, September 21, 2008

"Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike
Bloomberg.

"It was a difficult week for the economy -
one of the toughest I've ever seen. The credit crunch intensified on Wall
Street, sweeping the legs out from under major financial institutions. I
was on the phone for much of the week with finance executives - people I've
known a long time from my own days on Wall Street and from running my
company. I also went down to Washington, where I met with Treasury
Secretary Hank Paulson and S.E.C. Chairman Chris Cox, offering whatever insights
and support I could.

"My first priority, of course, is keeping
New York City strong. As our nation's financial capital, we feel the
market's fluctuations more intensely than anyone. I've been assured by the
CEOs of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers that the bulk of their New York-based
jobs will be preserved. But not all jobs will be saved. And we all
are going to feel some of the pain - because the money that Wall Street makes
and spends affects just about everyone - from law firms and restaurants workers
to taxi drivers and advertising agencies.

"The one silver lining is that City
government is in a better position than ever to weather the downturn - and
that's because we've prepared for it. The market is cyclical, so we knew
that the good times wouldn't last forever. In the good times, we saved
billions of dollars to meet future costs. And when storm clouds began to
appear on the economic horizon last year, I directed every agency to cut its
budget.

"Many people have asked me what we can do
now to turn the economy around. There's no quick fix, unfortunately.
But in the short term, the federal government should take steps to stabilize the
market and prevent the panics we've been seeing - and they've begun doing that.

"In the long run, the federal government
should focus on spurring growth and creating jobs by making major new
investments in our nation's aging infrastructure. That will help us stay
competitive in the global economy. Washington must also take action in an
area of particular importance to New York City: Fixing our broken
immigration system - so we once again welcome all of the entrepreneurs,
engineers, scientists, and laborers who help make our economy thrive.

"Here in New York, our responsibility
continues to be making our city as attractive as possible to families and
investors. As long as the best and brightest want to live here, companies
will need to be here. And we are living up to that responsibility: Last
week, for instance, we released the latest round of progress reports which
measure how well our schools are doing - an important element of the
accountability in education that is producing better results in the
classroom. We also began implementing new health standards for the meals
we serve in our public hospitals, our senior centers, our schools, our day care
centers, and other places - and that's going to put millions more New Yorkers on
the path to a healthier future.

"There's no telling when the turmoil on Wall
Street will end, and the government is going to face some very tough decisions
in the months ahead. But we've got to keep our chins up. We've been
through tough times before and come out even stronger. And if we continue
to invest in our city's future, I know we will do so again.